Trust Me (I'm Lying)
by Sheena-MFfan
Summary: Yang, a high school dropout, secretly works as a stripper in order to support her little sister, Ruby, no thanks to their unemployed, alcoholic father. Weiss, a frosty girl with money to spare, could be the answer to all of Yang's problems. If only Yang wasn't so stubborn. AU. Freezerburn, Cinderruby, and many others.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello again, everyone! First of all, I'd like to express how thankful I am to everyone who read and reviewed my Freezerburn oneshot called "Dancing Queen." I was overwhelmed at how many people enjoyed it and every piece of feedback I got made me beyond thrilled :)**

**And now, as promised, here is the Freezerburn multi-chapter fic I mentioned I had in mind! Freezerburn and Cinderruby will be the endgame pairings and the main pairings focused on in this fic, but there will be several other pairings as well.**

**I would also like to say that this fic is rated M for a reason. These reasons include intense violence, language, sexual situations, alcohol and drug abuse, and many others that will become apparent as the story continues. This story will get extremely intense, so if you feel that you cannot handle that, then feel free to press the back button.**

**Also, thank you to everyone who has clicked on this story and is willing to give it a chance! It will be quite lengthy and I have put a good amount of time and effort into thinking up the plot. So without further ado, I hope you all enjoy Chapter 1 of Trust Me (I'm Lying)!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

As 5:00 a.m. struck, the chaos of a recent mainstream pop hit screeched from Yang's alarm clock and aroused said girl from her slumber. She groaned throatily in annoyance and turned her head to glare at the irritatingly loud device, lilac eyes squinting at the bright red numbers suddenly illuminating her blackened vision, before reaching over with the only arm she was able to move and shutting off the alarm with the push of a button.

Yang sighed deeply; both in relief that her ears no longer had to suffer hearing a song about wrecking balls and in exasperation from being woken up so early. She rubbed the sleep out of the corners of her eyes with her free hand and then pinched the bridge of her nose in a vain attempt to wake up faster. Despite having to wake up this early four to five times a week, it never got any easier no matter how much sleep she got beforehand.

Not like she actually got much sleep last night. The soft groan she heard on her left reminded her why.

Looking in the direction of the noise, Yang felt rather than saw a person cuddling in bed with her. Her arm was pinned against a pair of full, exposed breasts, silky tresses brushing against Yang's bare shoulder. The twitch of a cat ear tickling her chin made it obvious that the person in her arms was her best friend, Blake, but Yang was already aware of that.

She would recognize Blake's groans anywhere.

Displaying a lazy grin that was swallowed whole by the darkness of her room, Yang found the energy to lower her head and quietly ask, "You awake, Kitty Cat?" The lilac eyed girl accented her statement by gently nibbling the tip of Blake's cat ear.

The feline faunus whimpered, the exact reaction Yang was hoping for.

"You always _did_ like it when I played with your ears," Yang whispered, the words rolling sultrily off her tongue.

"S-Stop it, Yang," Blake murmured, her voice a mixture of irritation and tiredness. Yang could picture the splashes of pink on Blake's cheeks and she really wished she could see it for real.

"Oh?" Yang questioned playfully, her voice dropping an octave. "That's not what you were saying last night."

She felt Blake attempt to headbutt her chin, but the cat faunus was so exhausted that it came off as nothing more than a gentle bump. "It's just been awhile since last time," she retorted softly.

"True," Yang agreed with a shrug, her mind briefly supplying her with images of the time Blake had mentioned. Images that she certainly shouldn't be picturing first thing in the morning when she had things to do. "And as much as I'd like to go again," Yang gently nudged her captured limb against Blake's abdomen, "I need you to let go of my arm so I can get ready for work."

Blake groaned again—probably from the effort she didn't want to use so early in the morning to unwrap herself from Yang's arm—but complied with Yang's request. Yang smiled down at the smaller girl in her bed even though Blake wouldn't be able to see it, even with that excellent night vision of hers, then swiftly peeled the bed sheets away from her form and stood up from the mattress, bare feet meeting thin, purple carpet.

"Light," Yang warned quietly before turning on the lamp next to her alarm clock. A soft yellow glow blanketed the room, but clearly it was too much for Blake to handle because she squeezed her already closed eyes even more tightly shut and rolled onto her other side so that she wasn't facing the lamp. Yang shook her head and chuckled at the sight.

It was rare to see Blake act so immaturely. Given Blake's quiet and composed nature, one would figure that she would be a morning person, but she actually despised them just as much as everyone else. This immature side only tended to be released when she and Yang were alone, which Yang was thankful for. She was glad that she could keep this side of Blake all to herself.

Not to mention how much of a bonus it was to wake up next to the naked, disheveled cat faunus.

Staring at Blake's bare and sexy shoulder blades—were those some scratches?—reminded Yang that she was just as naked as the girl in her bed, so she hurried to her closet to pick out an outfit. Blue skinny jeans, a slightly faded grey T-shirt that she remembered was tight around her bust, some yellow undergarments, and her signature orange scarf. She threw the clothing onto the edge of her bed and then walked around the mattress, kneeling down so she could be eyelevel with Blake.

Said faunus must have sensed her close proximity as she slowly cracked open eyelids that were free of their usual purple mascara, revealing a pair of mysterious, and awfully tired, eyes, amber alike to the bright shade of Yang's hair. Blake blushed slightly, probably because Yang's well endowed chest was near to her face, but she didn't say anything. Yang fondly remembered how, back in the day, Blake was so shy about seeing Yang naked that she couldn't even meet her gaze.

Those times have long since past now, but it was cute that Blake still retained a bit of that timidness.

"I'm gonna get ready now and then head off," Yang explained softly, gaze flickering between Blake's half-lidded orbs. "Which means I'll turn off the light again and let you get back to your cat nap."

"Thank God for small—" the black haired girl was interrupted by a short yawn, "—miracles."

"Last I checked my name wasn't 'God,' but that's close enough I guess."

Yang grinned toothily at her own joke. Blake just shook her head groggily, causing some dark locks to spill over her face.

"Anyways," Yang began, using her hand to tuck the rebellious strands behind Blake's human ear, "have a good day at school. Make sure Ruby gets there okay."

That sentence brought some alertness back into Blake's gaze.

"Thank you, and I will," the amber-eyed girl responded. "Just like always."

Yang nodded and smiled. "I trust you." She leaned forward a few inches and gave Blake's forehead a long, gentle kiss. "Goodnight, Blake."

Blake smiled tiredly and closed her eyes, burying herself further into the blankets.

"Or should I say good morning, because technically—"

"Yang, no. Just leave."

The blonde pouted even though the faunus couldn't see it. She watched as Blake curled herself into a ball under the covers, seemingly ready to hibernate. She looked extremely warm and comfortable and Yang wanted nothing more than to jump back into bed with her, but, unfortunately, work was chanting her name in a similarly dreadful tune as the mainstream song from earlier.

Thus, she stood up, knees giving a satisfying crack as she did so, snatched up her clothes, turned off her light and then headed to the upstairs bathroom. It was the only one out of the two that had a shower, after all. She felt no shame walking the upstairs portion of her house in all her naked glory as Blake had already seen her naked several times, and Ruby was, well, _Ruby_. She wouldn't even care. She'd probably just throw a random article of clothing at her and tell her to cover up.

Yang was half-expecting that event to actually happen when she walked past Ruby's room, but then she remembered that her little sister was enjoying dreamland just as much as Yang wished she still was.

Shaking away all thoughts of sleep and dreams and the gorgeously naked creature she called a best friend that currently occupied her bed, Yang finished her trek to the small bathroom, set her clothes down on the toilet seat, and quickly hopped into the shower. She twisted the knobs and sighed blissfully as the scalding hot water damped her hair and cascaded down her body, steam quickly fogging the room.

Unfortunately, as much as Yang adored long showers, she knew she didn't have that luxury. And that wasn't just because she would be late for work if she took too long. So she scrubbed her body and washed her thick, wild mane as thoroughly as she could in a tight time-span before turning off the faucets and stepping out.

Her body, dripping with scorching streams of water, was immediately assaulted by the regular temperature of the bathroom, which felt freezing compared to the sauna she had enjoyed within the shower's walls. She hastily wrapped herself in a white towel to combat the cold, comforted slightly by the feeling of cotton on her bare skin. Yang proceeded to plug in the hairdryer and use the hot air the device provided to dry her waist-length strands. Her hair was so thick and long that it normally took most the morning to dry, but the treatment of her hair was something Yang refused to rush. Her golden mane was the one thing Yang took the most pride in, and she refused to treat it with anything but the gentlest care. She never left the house until she had her hair just the way she wanted it.

Besides, she had an eight-hour shift at the Superstore today, so her hair better look damn pristine.

After what felt like an hour, her hair was dry enough to meet her standards so she unplugged the hairdryer and left it on the white ceramic tile countertop. She stripped the towel from her form and rubbed away any remnants of liquid before dressing in her chosen outfit. After brushing her teeth, applying a quick touch of makeup and dragging her hairbrush in several long strokes through her hair, she left the bathroom and quietly tiptoed downstairs—avoiding all the squeaky spots she had memorized over the years—to the kitchen.

She popped two slices of white bread in the toaster and then spun on her heel to take a peek in the refrigerator for a drink. Like always, alcohol outnumbered every other product in their fridge. Not like there was ever much in their fridge to begin with. She snatched one of her little sister's 2% milk cartons that was hiding behind a 6-pack of Budweiser and downed the drink in a couple gulps, the carton leaving her lips just as her toast popped up. She lathered her toast with butter and wasted no time in devouring both pieces.

Once she finished her hasty breakfast, the tall blonde glanced over at the time displayed in little green numbers on the old microwave stained with tomato sauce and Blake's spilt tea. 6:32 a.m. Time for her to go. It normally took her about an hour to walk to work, even if she cut through the shady alleys, so she would have to leave now if she wanted to make it in time.

Some days she wished she had possession of bus tickets, but she always remembered shortly after that she would rather walk an hour to and from work than let Ruby go to school without a lunch.

Remembering that she left her bag stuffed with her work uniform—black dress pants, a white collared shirt, a watch, and a yellow vest with the Superstore company's logo on the left side—by the coffee table in the living room, she hurriedly marched in that direction. As she reached over the side of the microfiber green couch, aged with rips and stains of many varieties, to grab her bag, her nostrils were raided with the stench of strong booze. Her lilac gaze drifted to the side and she paused.

Her dad was passed out on the floor, his short blond hair dull and greasy and his skin clammy and covered in muck. His grey Fall jacket was dirty and unzipped to reveal a bunch of dark stains on his wrinkly red T-shirt. His baggy, faded blue jeans had some new holes in the knees since last weekend, and his black combat boots were layered in years old mud. He was snoring lightly, like he didn't have a care in the world, an empty glass bottle in his grimy hand.

Yang took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through her mouth. She took a moment to stare with tired eyes at the filthy lump of a man occupying the once clean beige carpet of her living room that would no doubt be soiled with dirt and beer once he left.

"Morning, Dad," she muttered under her breath.

She speedily gripped the handles of her work bag and stepped towards the front door. She slipped her light, tan jacket over her shoulders—mornings could be chilly in September—and then slid her feet into her knee-length brown boots. She checked her pockets to make sure she had her keys, wallet, and the cell phone she and her sister shared before looking over her shoulder at her dad.

"Have a good day at work, Yang..." the blonde murmured to herself.

She waited a few more seconds but the man never moved. She let out a familiar dejected sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly as she left her house and locked the door behind her.

* * *

><p>"Ruby? Ruby, hey!"<p>

Said girl jumped as someone snapped their fingers right in front of her face. Her slumping back was now ramrod straight and her silver eyes burst wide in attention.

"I-I'm awake!" Ruby stuttered loudly. She thumbed away the drool she felt spill past her lips and then turned to peer at the person who snapped their fingers in front of her. It was her good friend, Blake, a worried look in her catlike eyes that were accented with thin lines of black eyeliner and a wave of purple eye shadow, unlike that morning when they woke up. Her wavy black hair reached her lower back, her cat ears hidden under a black bow. She was clad in a loose white tank top that barely reached her waistline along with black skinny jeans that were tucked into ankle-high heeled boots of the same colour. An ebony shaded scarf concealed her pale neck, and thin black ribbons wrapped around her wrists and reached halfway up to her elbows.

They were sitting together on a wooden picnic table outside of their high school enjoying their meals during their lunch period. The Sun was warm but not so much that Ruby would overheat in her red hoodie and baggy blue jeans, and there was a soothing, gentle breeze, making it perfect for dining outdoors. Well, as perfect as it could get in the ugly and uncared for backyard of their school. The wood of the tables were moldy and the grassy fields were browning, not to mention the amount of uncouth graffiti on the backside of the school building.

But at least it was quiet out there. For Ruby, and no doubt Blake, too, that made it a million times better than eating in the cafeteria with a bunch of overly obnoxious children.

Ruby shook her head to break out of her thoughts when she noticed Blake was still staring at her. She felt a little bad when she realized Blake was probably saying something to her when she started falling asleep.

"Are you okay, Ruby?" Blake asked, her normally nonchalant voice tinged with concern. "You look really tired."

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about little ol' me," Ruby replied, lips parting wide in a huge yawn before taking a bite of her granola bar. "Didn't get a lot of sleep last night, is all."

It was true. She was so exhausted that she caught herself nodding off at least five different times in second period and actually slept for at least half of her third period. Although she had no friends in her grade—she was two years and two grades younger than Blake and the rest of their friends, much to her dismay—her classmates were kind and never attempted to wake her. And, from some glorious miracle, neither Mr. Port nor Ms. Goodwitch slammed a hand on her desk to wake her up this time.

Blake cocked her head. "Nightmare?" she questioned gently.

"Close," Ruby affirmed with a nod, finishing up her snack and throwing the wrapper into the trash can beside her. Then her orbs glared in Blake's direction, the unusual look catching the cat faunus off guard. The red clad girl's next words were stern and accusing, "You and Yang kept me up _all night_."

The effect was immediate; Blake tensed, the bow concealing her cat ears drooped slightly, and her pale cheeks flared a massive pink.

"O-Oh," Blake breathed, wide amber eyes darting away from Ruby's. She nibbled timidly at her tuna sandwich.

Ruby sighed loudly, her chin-length dark brown hair with red tips wisping in front of her face as she slumped back down in her seat. "Why do you guys still _do_ that stuff?" the younger girl asked, feeling heat rush to her cheeks at the words coming out of her mouth. She didn't dare say it any more lewdly in fear that her head might explode. "You're not even dating anymore."

Blake curled in on herself, as if she were trying to disappear or warp through the ground. "Yang can be very... persuasive," she answered quietly, cheeks burning brighter.

"I don't even want to know what that means," Ruby replied, desperately trying to erase the image of her older sister seducing their mutual friend. "Even so, why can't you guys do that stuff in your house then? You live right beside us. Well, really, your house is conjoined to ours, so you wouldn't even have to leave our house to get to yours; you could just use the doors behind our kitchens that connect our houses. Plus, you guys could actually be alone then since Adam is, like, never home, right?" Blake gave a hesitant nod. "See? Foolproof plan!"

The black haired girl parted her lips to respond, but Ruby's elongated groan interrupted her.

"Then again," Ruby began, thumping her forehead on the bumpy wooden table and resting it there, "you guys were so loud that I probably _still_ would've heard you even with all those extra walls."

Blake covered her eyes with her hand, head angled at the ground. "I'm _sorry_, okay? Can we please stop talking about this?"

"Oh? Talking about what?"

Both Ruby and Blake turned in the direction of a third voice. There stood Weiss Schnee, Ruby's best friend, a plastic tray full of mediocre cafeteria food in her hands.

"N-Nothing important," Blake promptly replied, the blush swiftly vanishing from her cheeks. "Just some movie we were watching last night. Right, Ruby?" The raven haired girl with red tips never responded. Blake looked away from Weiss to raise an eyebrow at the younger girl sitting next to her. "Ruby?"

But Ruby couldn't even hear her. She was too busy drinking in the stunning sight of her best friend. Weiss's snow white hair was held by a silver pin in her usual off-centre ponytail, the silky strands lengthy enough to brush her hip, her bangs swept away to showcase the mysterious crooked scar on her left eye. She was clad in a tube top that matched her hair colour with a light blue, long-sleeved bolero jacket overtop, offering full view of the silver studded necklace that rested over her sharp collarbone. Her thighs were hidden under a loose, navy blue skirt, a pair of white, heeled, mid-calf length boots completing her outfit.

Ruby wet her lips nervously. God, Weiss was gorgeous. She always looked gorgeous. How did she get so lucky as to claim the honor of being Weiss Schnee's best friend? After all, Ruby was just ghetto trash and she knew it, while Weiss was beautiful, smart, rich, sophisticated...

"Ruby!"

... And irritated, apparently.

"Huh?" Ruby blinked, shaking away her thoughts of her friend's beauty to notice a pair of amber eyes and another of ice blue staring at her worriedly. Well, Blake looked worried, anyway. Weiss just looked impatient.

Ruby couldn't help but find it attractive.

"Sorry guys, guess I kinda spaced out there," Ruby continued with a shy giggle, rubbing the back of her neck, a nervous habit she picked up from Yang.

Weiss shook her head, her ponytail swaying with her movement. "You dunce," she sighed, claiming the seat at the table across from Ruby. She set her tray down and used her fork to poke through a tomato in her salad and popped the juicy vegetable—or was it a fruit?—into her mouth.

Ruby just smiled at the insult, hoping it didn't appear as bashful as she suddenly felt. Weiss had called her names akin to 'dunce' and 'dolt' since they had first met, and at the beginning those names irritated Ruby to no end.

And now they made her heart skip a beat. Funny how things like that work.

"So, what was it about?" Weiss asked, lifting a forkful of lettuce into her mouth.

Ruby and Blake's heads snapped up to look at the white haired girl. "What was what about?" Ruby echoed cautiously.

"The movie," Weiss clarified plainly, as if it were obvious that's what she was referring to. "What was it about?"

Ruby bit her tongue and sensed Blake have a similar internal reaction. They had to come up with a response quickly, lest they have to explain that the moans that kept Ruby up all night still unfortunately resonated in the back of her brain.

"Hehe... well, you know..." Ruby began, silver eyes darting away from Weiss's. She was an abysmal liar and she knew it, so she hoped and prayed that Blake would be able to save her here. The faunus was the one to invent the lie, after all.

"Don't worry about it," Blake said with a wave of her hand, the calmness in her voice probably the exact opposite of how she was feeling inside. "It's probably nothing you've ever seen."

Weiss huffed. "Just because I have more important things to do with my time than waste hours of my day away on mindless television doesn't mean I wish to be excluded from these conversations."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Rich kids," she commented drily, making Ruby snort in agreement.

"Excuse you." Weiss's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I didn't ask to be born a Schnee."

Blake frowned in turn. "And I didn't ask to be born a faunus."

A thousand red flags burst forward in Ruby's mind. Although Weiss herself was generally accepting of faunus now, it was clear that the Schnee family was not. The Schnee's uncomfortable history with the faunus was baggage that Weiss had to carry with her everywhere she went, and this was initially an obstacle in Weiss and Blake's friendship when Ruby first introduced them. It's been months since then and Weiss and Blake have grown closer over time. Not enough to be great friends or anything, but enough that Ruby thought they had put their original problems behind them.

Apparently, the ashes of those problems still remained.

"H-Hey guys, c'mon, don't fight," Ruby began timidly, forcing her arm in-between the two glaring girls just to be sure they wouldn't jump across the table and claw each other like animals in a jungle. "You guys are friends. I thought you two were past this."

Ruby's gaze shifted between those of her two closest companions, her stomach churning nervously at how, even a full minute later, they were both still in a silent, angry stare down.

How did a conversation about Yang and Blake's night-time activities stem into something like this?

Oddly enough, both conversations made Ruby feel equally uncomfortable, but she would much rather suffer talking about her sister's sex life than see her closest friends fight.

After another tense minute, Weiss finally relented with a heavy sigh, her eyes losing their hardness. "I'm... sorry," the white haired girl grumbled in a way that made it fairly obvious that she wasn't used to apologizing for anything, "I didn't intend to be rude."

Thankfully, Blake's shoulders relaxed, her gaze losing its edge as well. "I'm sorry, too," she replied softly. "I didn't mean to sound so bitter. I know you have nothing to do with anything your family has done."

Weiss gave a small, grateful smile at that, an expression so rare that it made Ruby's heart flutter wildly in her chest. It would be hard for a stranger to believe, but Weiss was, like, ten times prettier when she smiled. Not like she wasn't already pretty to begin with, but seeing Weiss happy about something just sent a warm sensation flowing through Ruby. She loved seeing Weiss happy.

She wanted to _make_ Weiss happy.

And right now, she was just thankful that her friends had made up so quickly. So thankful that she flopped her head against the table in relief.

She heard Blake chuckle and then felt the faunus girl's warm hand pat her shoulder comfortingly. "Sorry about that, Ruby," she said sincerely. "We didn't mean to scare you."

"I know," the short raven haired girl replied, raising her head to look at both of them. "I just don't know what I would do if you two hated each other. Like, how would I be able to choose who to spend lunchtime with?"

Weiss didn't even try to hold back her displeased groan while she pinched the bridge of her nose. "_That's_ what you're concerned about?" she questioned.

"Well, _yeah_." Ruby sat up straighter and shrugged. "I want to spend time with both of you. Would be kinda hard to do that if you two couldn't stand each other."

Weiss sighed, lowering her arm back to the table. "Just when I thought you couldn't become any more of a dunce..."

Ruby grinned widely in reply, pulling out a small bag of cookies from her paper lunch bag.

"I stand corrected," the white haired girl stated in a monotone voice. "_That's_ your lunch? Are you _kidding_ me?"

"What?" Ruby questioned, cookie crumbles tumbling from her mouth. "Got a problem?"

"Yes!" Weiss winced at Ruby's poor table manners. "Why are cookies the main assortment of your lunch?"

"It's _Ruby_," Blake chuckled, finishing off her tuna sandwich with a graceful gulp. "You've known her for nearly half a year, so I'm not sure why this surprises you."

"... True. But still, she should be eating healthier."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Like you're one to talk."

Weiss frowned in confusion. "Huh?" She glanced down at her meal and then looked back up into the amber eyes of the cat faunus. "It's a salad," Weiss clarified as if it were obvious.

Blake nodded. "From our school's cafeteria. That changes everything."

Weiss blinked. "A salad is a salad. It will be healthy no matter where it's from."

"Clearly you haven't had a salad from McDonald's, then."

"Of course not. I am above such a barbaric establishment."

"They have good fries," Ruby chimed in with a shrug.

"Not helping, Ruby," Weiss sighed, briefly massaging her temples. Then she scooped a portion of her salad onto her fork and held it in front of Ruby's face. "Here, eat this."

"What?" Ruby's jaw opened in surprise just enough that a large chunk of cookie plummeted down her lower lip and shattered on the table. It embarrassed the short haired girl for a split second until Weiss's fork, only a few inches from her face, came into clear view again. "But, I—"

"Do it," Weiss commanded firmly, shoving the fork closer. Ruby parted her lips; more to avoid being stabbed in the mouth rather than actually following Weiss's order. The feeling of new, solid food in her mouth caused her lips to instinctively wrap around the utensil so no food would tumble out. There was nothing wrong with the lettuce and tomatoes swirling along her tongue, but they were a bit bland. Made sense for cafeteria food. She already missed the sweetness of cookies on her taste buds.

Weiss was just looking out for her, though, so she couldn't be upset with her for interrupting her cookie lunch. Plus, Ruby was never one to turn down free food. Weiss's ice blue orbs were staring directly into Ruby's, as if she were waiting for something. It took Ruby a second, but then realization struck like a freight train.

Weiss was feeding her. Weiss's lips had touched this fork. They just shared an indirect kiss.

Ruby's heart slammed against her chest and she sputtered. Weiss took advantage of this opportunity to pull back her fork from the prison of Ruby's mouth.

"So? How was it?" Weiss asked, using the same fork to take another bite of her salad.

Ruby was enchanted; her eyes were like a hawk as Weiss wet her pink lips with her even pinker tongue and then wrapped them around the fork that was just previously in her mouth. The white haired girl pulled the fork free and thoughtfully chewed, her sharp jaw tantalizing with every movement. Weiss swallowed and Ruby's eyes followed the crushed food as it travelled down Weiss's creamy neck, leading to a mesmerizing view of a collarbone that shouldn't be allowed to be that alluring.

"Ruby!"

"Huh?" Ruby's head snapped up instantly, meeting Weiss's eyes again which gleamed in annoyance.

"How was the salad?" Weiss repeated, and Ruby had the uneasy feeling that that wasn't only the second time Weiss had asked her that.

"O-Oh! It was okay," Ruby admitted sheepishly, fighting a war with the blush that wanted to appear on her cheeks. She buried her hands under the table so she could fidget her fingers together without Weiss seeing; it was an embarrassing nervous habit that Yang had teased her about since they were kids.

"See? It doesn't hurt to have something healthy, sometimes," Weiss exclaimed. Blake rolled her eyes, making Weiss do the same in return. "Okay, fine. _Somewhat_ healthy." The white haired girl looked back to Ruby. "Regardless, it's much better than those piles of sugar and salt in your bag. I expect you to have something healthy in your lunch tomorrow."

"S-Sure, Weiss," Ruby replied quickly, a bit startled from Weiss's bluntness. "No problem."

"Good." A small smile formed on Weiss's face, brightening her entire expression.

And it made Ruby melt.

The silver eyed girl felt her heartbeat accelerate, finally losing the battle with the redness in her cheeks. Ruby knew for a fact that she and Yang had nothing even remotely healthy that she could bring to school in her lunch—healthy food was unreasonably expensive—but that didn't stop her from agreeing with what Weiss expected of her. Despite how her agreement was akin to telling a small lie to the white haired girl, it didn't matter.

Anything was worth seeing Weiss smile at her like that.

"Hey, guys! Whatcha talking about?"

The arrival of a fourth voice caused Weiss's smile to drop immediately, and Ruby couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment towards the person who just arrived, despite being his friend. Jaune planted himself on the seat next to Weiss, an oblivious smile on his face. Weiss sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose as if she were fighting off a growing migraine.

"Hey, Jaune," Ruby acknowledged the blond haired boy who was sitting closer to Weiss than she appreciated. Over his shoulder she noticed Pyrrha, Nora and Ren walking towards their table; they must have all been walking together before Jaune rushed ahead. Probably so he could sit next to Weiss. Ruby instantly cast that thought from her mind and raised her arm high to wave at the group of three. "Yo!"

"Hello again," Pyrrha greeted when their group were close enough to be heard without shouting, smiling and giving a graceful wave that suited her perfectly. Ren gave a curt nod in reply to Ruby's greeting, the three girls at the table nodding back to him in turn. Nora reached across the table and fist-bumped Ruby, then rushed along the side to place herself next to the red clad girl, dragging Ren with her by the arm. There wasn't enough room for her to sit properly, though, so she ended up half sitting on the bench and half not while the black haired boy with a magenta streak stood stiffly at her side. The orange haired girl didn't seem to mind her awkward seating position, though, a shit-eating grin on her face as she began devouring Ruby's remaining cookies.

Normally it would have upset Ruby to see her beautiful cookies get eaten right in front of her, and internally it still kind of did, but she wanted to keep an indifferent external appearance in the high hopes that it would impress Weiss. Even after feeling a low rumble in the pit of her stomach, Ruby still didn't ask Nora to stop.

Not like Nora would listen to her if she asked, anyway.

"So, Weiss," Jaune began nervously, looking directly at the girl he was addressing. Weiss sighed deeply before turning her head to leer at him. Ruby bit her tongue; she already knew what he was going to ask. No doubt everyone else at the table did, too. "That new horror movie just came out today—"

"No."

"Wha—you didn't even let me finish!"

"I already knew what you were going to ask, and from what I can gather, everyone but you already knew what my answer would be."

"So cold..." Jaune sighed and slumped in his seat. Pyrrha gently patted the blond haired boy on the shoulder and smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Ruby wasn't a fool; the redhead's feelings for the blond were clear as day—to everyone but him, apparently. But despite how much Pyrrha cared for him, she's never dared to confess her feelings. She just stood by and helped Jaune recover every couple of days that Weiss rejected him.

It was one of the saddest things Ruby's ever seen.

"'Sup, losers?"

Everyone turned to look at Sun, the blond monkey faunus approaching the group with a casual wave. His good friends Neptune, Sage and Scarlet trailed closely behind him.

"Hey, Sun," Blake greeted her childhood friend with a small smile. Ruby noticed the monkey faunus blush and smile in return.

Ruby and a few others said their pleasantries to the new arrivals as well, and as the large group communed amongst themselves, Ruby couldn't help but feel nostalgic. When Ruby first joined Signal Academy, she was worried no one would like her. She was shy and socially awkward and really had no clue how to make friends. But Blake and Yang had saved her by introducing her to all of these beautiful people, giving her a spot in their friend circle.

This friend circle originally didn't include Weiss, though. Weiss was the only friend Ruby had made on her own. They definitely didn't start off that way, but after they overcame their differences Ruby helped the frosty heiress ease into the friend group. This wasn't until Yang had already left the school, though, so her older sister never got the chance to meet Weiss.

Laughing and sharing lunch with her ten closest friends made her wish Yang was with them more than ever. She deserved to be here.

"So, Snow Angel," Neptune started, stepping close to Weiss and leaning on the table. Ruby silently grit her teeth at the pet-name the bright blue haired boy used to refer to her best friend. Ruby took back her statement of sharing lunch with her ten closest friends—it was more like nine. She remembered now why she wasn't the fondest of Neptune. "That new horror movie came out today and I was wondering if you wanted to see it with me after school."

"Are you kidding me?" Jaune whined, earning some risen eyebrows around the table.

When Weiss realized his statement was directed towards her instead of Neptune, her ice blue eyes glared at him and she asked in an accusatory tone, "What?"

"Why did you let him finish and not me?" he complained.

"I'm not even going to bother answering that," Weiss replied with a sigh. "Look, I don't plan on accepting his offer either, so don't have an aneurysm about it."

Ruby snickered at that.

"Aw, c'mon Snow Angel, don't be like that," Neptune urged, earning a glare from the silver eyed girl. "Why won't you go with me?"

"Because I'm not interested in you anymore, that's why." Weiss took a calm sip of her water. "You should've asked me a year ago."

"Well, it's not like I can go back in time to change that, so why don't we just make up for it now? C'mon, one date won't hurt—"

The extravagant noise of school bells rang across the premises and alerted the students that lunchtime was over and they had to hurry to their next classes.

"Oh, would you look at that," Weiss stated blandly, swiftly standing and grabbing her tray. "I simply must be off. Can't afford to be late to class. Have a good day, everyone."

Weiss walked off to enter the school but mid-stride she looked back to give Ruby a wave and a small smile, and that was all it took for Ruby's heart to lodge itself in her throat. She managed to smile and wave back, but she was thankful no one asked her to speak in that moment because she knew she wouldn't be able to.

Everyone departed shortly after that, following Weiss's example and making their way to their respective classes. Ruby, being two years and two grades under all of her friends, unfortunately had no classes with any of them. She hated going to class because of it—she got bored and lonely really easily—but she knew Yang would kill her if she started skipping class again.

In fact, Weiss would kill her, too. Perhaps even more brutally than Yang would, and that was all the motivation Ruby needed to grab her English books from her locker and head to her last class, taking her particular seat in the back near the window.

She was the first one there, but soon enough the classroom was filled with bustling students her own age. None of them talked to her.

"Alright, class is starting now, everyone," her teacher, Ms. Lehane, announced at the front of the classroom. Her grey wolf faunus ears were perked high until all of the students ceased their chatter. With a gentle swish of her fluffy tail, her teacher spoke, "I hope you all finished the readings I assigned to you last night. Today, we are going to cover..."

The short haired girl sighed, burying her cheek into her palm. This was going to be a long class. To stop herself from falling asleep like she had in all her other classes, however, she just thought of Weiss. How beautiful she looked in that outfit. The way she fed her at lunch. The smile she gave her when she left...

Ruby's heart throbbed. Yeah, it was going to be a long class.

* * *

><p>"I can help whoever's next!"<p>

Yang watched as the next person in the express line skipped over to her cash, her large purple ponytail bouncing with her movements. The tall, teenage customer proceeded to dump an abundance of scissors onto the counter, a wide, toothy grin on her face.

Yang raised an eyebrow—this girl looked _way_ too happy considering what she was buying, and quite frankly it creeped Yang out—but she didn't question it, instead choosing to just check out the items for her customer.

"Did you find everything okay?" Yang asked professionally, swiping the several pairs of scissors across her scanner.

"Oh yes," the purple haired girl replied in such a sickeningly sweet tone that it made Yang uneasy. "This store has a wonderful selection."

Yang didn't even want to know what that meant, so she remained silent while scanning the rest of the items. She told the girl the price of the objects, accepted her money, gave her back her change, and turned her head to watch the girl's ponytail bounce as she skipped out the Superstore's front doors, humming a cheery tune.

Yang had an inkling that she just unwillingly assisted in something diabolical, so to distract herself from those disturbing thoughts she took a quick glance at her watch. 3:30 p.m. That meant she got to go home in half an hour. Her incredibly boring—and suddenly unnerving—eight hour shift was almost over! Just thirty more minutes and she could get out of this shithole.

Well, it actually wasn't that bad. For minimum wage, anyway. Yes, her manager was cruel, and yes, some of the customers were total assholes, and _yes_, it was extremely boring and tiring standing on her feet for eight hours, but fact of the matter was that it wasn't a hard job and it got food on the table for Ruby.

That's all that really mattered. The last thirty minutes of her shift would pass by quickly if that thought was at the forefront of her mind.

So with a deep breath that passed through her whole diaphragm, Yang turned around and announced loudly with a large wave of her arm, "I can help whoever's next!"

The girl who arrived at her cash seconds later was one of the prettiest girls Yang had ever seen. Her snow white hair was pulled into a long, off-centre ponytail, something that both fascinated Yang and made her breath catch. The short white haired girl was clad in a white tube top, shoulders concealed by a sky blue, long-sleeved bolero jacket. A silver studded necklace hung over the girl's collarbone, enhancing her pale skin and enticing neckline. From her position behind the counter, Yang could also see that the girl was wearing a loose, navy blue skirt, flaring outwards the further it traveled down slim legs.

What intrigued Yang the most, however, was the crooked scar that ran down the girl's left eye.

Yang quickly realized she was staring and shot her eyes up to the ones of her customer, poorly masked impatience swimming in those ice blue depths. The porcelain skinned girl then gracefully set a four pack of coolers next to Yang's cash register.

Yang couldn't stop her chuckle fast enough, earning a frown from the girl at least five inches shorter than her. It was just comical to the blonde to see a girl who seemed so prim and proper shamelessly purchase alcohol at her Superstore and _nothing_ else. Not even some red solo cups or anything, _just_ the alcohol.

"May I please see some ID, Miss?" Yang asked. It got tiring, but she had to ask that to anyone she thought looked under twenty-five. And if this girl was _over_ twenty-five, Yang would be sure to ask what kind of anti-aging cream she used.

"You may," the snow haired girl answered smoothly, her voice sending a foreign chill up Yang's spine. She fished out her passport from her handbag and offered it to Yang, the blonde flipping open the small booklet and taking a good look at the girl's identification.

The picture on her passport matched the girl in front of her perfectly, Yang noticed in amusement, from the scar on her left eye down to the permanent scowl. Alright, so her name was Weiss Schnee, she was seventeen years old—certainly old enough to drink and purchase booze—, she's a citizen of Vale, her birthday was...

Yang paused. Wait a minute. Her lilac eyes drifted back up the passport to the girl's full name, squinting at the tiny, printed black letters.

"Is there a problem?" the ponytailed girl asked shortly, crossing her arms.

But Yang didn't even hear her.

Weiss Schnee. Weiss. Schnee. Where had she heard that name before? That name felt so close, yet so distant. It was right on the tip of her tongue...

Yang's eyes suddenly lit up, causing the girl in front of her to flinch in surprise.

"Hey! I know you!" Yang announced with a grin, handing Weiss back her passport.

The white haired girl huffed. "Of course you do," she said proudly, stuffing her identification back in her bag. "I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress to the—"

"No, no, I don't care about that," Yang waved her off, running the coolers across her scanner. She punched some digits into her cash register and a green number ten appeared on the screen facing both girls, indicating the amount of lien required for the item. Then a big smile graced Yang's expression, exposing rows of gleaming white teeth. "You're the girl Ruby never shuts up about."

"Huh?" Weiss cocked her head curiously. "How do you know Ruby?"

Yang blinked. "Well that's a weird question. You've known her for this long and she's never brought me up in conversation before?" Weiss just continued to stare at her in confusion, her silent response answering her question better than words ever could. Yang pouted slightly. "Wow, I'm so hurt." Her confident grin swiftly returned, though. "Well, my name is Yang Xiao Long, and I," she pointed a thumb at her chest, "am Ruby's _dashing_ older sister."

"Really? Ruby's never mentioned anything about having a sister before," Weiss replied, not bothering to comment on the 'dashing' part.

Yang shrugged. "I guess she wanted me to be a surprise."

Weiss frowned gently. "I don't understand the logic behind that."

Yang somewhat did, actually, but she felt like if she blurted out the scenario of, 'Hey, Weiss! Normally when people bring their partner home, their partner is forced into a special 'talk' with their parents, but because I don't have any responsible parental figures, you get to have the 'talk' with my sister instead,' Ruby would never look at her again.

So, instead, the lilac eyed girl responded with, "Yeah, my baby sis is a weird one."

Weiss's frown deepened, her eyes flickering between Yang's, as if she were searching for something. "But you two have different surnames."

"Different birth mothers," Yang replied coolly, hoping that Weiss wouldn't question her further about that. Thankfully, she didn't.

"As you are Ruby's sibling, I assume you live with her, correct?" Yang nodded. A sudden scowl manipulated Weiss's features, almost making Yang jump in shock. "So are you the one who packs her lunches?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no? I just buy the food. Ruby packs her own lunches."

"So you admit to being partially at fault."

"Huh?" Yang frowned in pure confusion. "What are you on about, Princess?"

"First off, it's heiress, actually." Weiss pointed an accusatory finger at Yang's abdomen. "And second, her lunch today was horrendous. It was nothing but junk. Why do you buy that stuff for her?"

Yang shrugged casually, trying hard to ignore Weiss's frosty tone. "Ruby's a big girl. She can eat whatever she wants."

Weiss sighed heavily. "At this rate, she'll just end up getting fat."

Yang released a hearty laugh, attracting more than a few stares to her cash. "Well, I did say she was a _big_ girl." Yang let out an uncontrollable string of giggles at her pun, but Weiss just shook her head, clearly unimpressed. Once Yang calmed down, she continued, "Honestly though, gaining weight is the last thing on Ruby's mind. I've seen that girl eat five pounds of cookies and not gain a single pound herself, so you don't have to worry." Yang smirked. "It's cute that you are, though."

"What?"

"Worried."

Weiss immediately blushed, the red that splashed her cheeks an unbelievably amusing and astonishing sight. "M-Me? Worried about that _dolt_? D-Don't be ridiculous!"

Weiss abruptly shoved twenty lien into Yang's hand, making the blonde laugh. Before Yang could even gather Weiss's required change, the girl had already grabbed her liquor and was storming her way towards the front doors.

"Have a good day, Miss!" Yang bellowed out in between fits of laughter, fighting to control her voice. "P-Please come again!"

Weiss glared at her over her shoulder before rushing through the sliding doors, somehow able to keep all her grace despite her flustered state. Yang watched her—unable to take her eyes off her—until that swaying, off-centre white ponytail was out of sight.

When her laughter finally died down, she smiled to herself. With the image of the flustered, and no doubt intriguing, Weiss Schnee still fresh in her retinas, Yang thought:

_Good job on that one, Ruby. Don't let anyone take her from you._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you to everyone who read all the way through that! For anyone who is concerned about the White Rose and Bumblebee in this chapter, don't worry; as I said at the beginning, this story will have several different pairings, but Freezerburn and Cinderruby are no doubt the endgame pairings. Trust me, I'm not lying (see the pun I made there? Ahaha).  
><strong>

**I would genuinely love hearing everyone's thoughts about the first chapter. I would appreciate knowing if people enjoyed this intro and if people are interested in this story being continued. So if you have the time, please drop me a review! I would love hearing from all of you! :)**

**Have a good day, everyone! Thanks again to everyone who gives this fic a chance! :)  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again, everyone! Sorry for the long wait for this update, but I go to university 4 days of the week and I work the other 3, so it's hard for me to find free time nowadays. I do have big plans for this story though, so don't you worry, I will continue to work on it. I would also like to note that every chapter of this that I post will be quite lengthy, so you can always look forward to that whenever I update.**

**For the person that questioned the drinking age, I touch on that in this chapter so you will get your answer. I have also noticed some people seem to be concerned or uncomfortable with how I plan to make Yang a stripper (I'm kind of curious why that is, actually). That is what I wrote in the summary and that is hugely what this story is based around, so that WILL be happening.**

**Anyways, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, alerted, and read my story. I cherish each and every one of you. I hope you all enjoy the second chapter! :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Once the final bell rang, Ruby was quick to hop out of her seat and rush out of the classroom, barely catching Ms. Lehane's comments about the homework she assigned them for the night and how she was looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. Pushing through all the bustling students that towered over her like mountains, Ruby finally made it to her locker. Blake was already there, black backpack on her shoulders, leaning against Ruby's locker as usual.

Even though Blake's locker was on the other side of the school,—each grade had a specific section for their lockers—, Blake almost always managed to beat Ruby to her own locker, already prepared to head home.

"Hey, Ruby," Blake greeted with a smile when the red clad girl was in earshot. "How was your last class?"

Ruby chuckled nervously, fighting off the urge to fidget her fingers. "Hehe, well, y'know, it was good," Ruby replied. "English and stuff. Same as always."

The bullshit coming out of her mouth was clear as day, but she couldn't let Blake know that she was distracted thinking about Weiss the whole time.

"She give you any homework?" Blake asked, moving out of the way so Ruby could open her locker and throw her books in her bag. "I had Ms. Lehane for Grade 10 English, too, and she tended to swamp me with readings."

"Yeah, she assigned a little bit of work," Ruby answered, focussing on flinging her black schoolbag onto her back and locking her locker so she wouldn't have to meet Blake's eyes. The short haired girl actually had no idea what homework she was supposed to do for tomorrow, but Blake didn't need to know that.

Once her locker was secure, Ruby turned around and cast a quick glance over the sea of students. "Is Weiss still here?" she questioned, hoping she didn't sound as hopeful as she felt.

"No," Blake said, shaking her head. "She left a few minutes ago. Something about being in a rush to pick up something from the store for her sister."

"Oh," the brunette with red tips breathed dejectedly, eyes downcast. She had been looking forward to seeing Weiss one more time before the end of school, even if it was just to say a quick goodbye.

"Why?" the faunus asked, cocking her head curiously. "Was there something you were going to tell her?"

"What?" Ruby flinched, voice wavering anxiously. "N-No, why would I have anything to tell her? N-Not that I don't like talking to her, of course I like talking to her. I love it, actually! But nope, nothing in particular to tell her. Of course not. Hehe, why would there be? What would I possibly—"

"Ruby." Said girl paused mid-rant at Blake's voice. The ebony haired girl's eyes softened, black feline ears flattening slightly. "One day you'll have to tell Weiss that you like her."

"_Blake!_" Ruby scolded in a hushed yell, glancing around fearfully.

"Relax, I just told you she's not here." Amber orbs scanned Ruby's reddening face. "I'm serious, though. You really should tell her. The longer you wait, the more painful it will get. Trust me, I know."

Ruby shyly peered up at her friend through her eyelashes. "How did you ever get the courage to confess to Yang?"

Blake sighed, grasping her elbow and rubbing it with her thumb. "It was hard," she admitted. "Yang was always so confident and kind-hearted. She's such a beautiful person and I'm, well, me." Ruby frowned at this, but didn't comment. "I thought I wasn't good enough for her, and that made me too scared to confess for months. But one day, something happened to make me realize that the amount I cared for Yang was stronger than the fear I had of her rejecting me, so eventually I just confessed to her. We never would have gotten together if I didn't tell her how I felt."

The short haired girl's heart was filled with warmth and bitterness at Blake's story. "You two broke up, though," Ruby reminded the faunus, wincing when she realized how rude that sounded.

"We did," Blake nodded. The black haired girl kept an indifferent expression, but Ruby noticed the sadness in her amber eyes. Regret, even. Blake smiled, however, confusing Ruby further. "But if I never confessed, I never would have known what could have been. At least we tried. At least we found out what it would be like to be together. It was a risk, but taking that risk allowed her and I to be happy together, even if it was only for a short time." Blake's voice softened. "Isn't that risk worth taking for Weiss?"

"I don't know," Ruby sighed, eyes meeting the floor again. She shuffled her weight from one leg to the other. "I just don't want her to hate me."

"Hate you? Is that what you're worried about?" Blake asked. Ruby never looked up, but she saw the charcoal haired girl's boots take a step closer. "Ruby, Weiss could never hate you. Nothing you could ever do would _ever_ make her hate you."

Ruby glanced skyward. "You think so?"

"Yeah." Blake smiled. "I know that she and I aren't the best of friends, but even I can see that she cares about you. She wouldn't have stuck around this long otherwise."

Finally, Ruby was able to smile, too. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right," the short haired girl replied. Blake's words helped lift a weight off her shoulders; helped ease the tension in her heart. The black haired girl really was a great person to talk to when she needed level-headed advice.

Yang normally got a bit carried away in her support. With her older sister's most recent encouragement being, "Make sure to slap that ass next time she drops her pencil," Ruby much preferred the faunus's advice.

"Thanks, Blake. Really," Ruby said sincerely.

"Anytime." Black nodded, her expression warm. "Promise me that you'll tell her, though."

"I will," Ruby replied, butterflies swarming in her stomach at the very thought. But she stood her ground, keeping a tight hold of her newly inspired confidence. "One day, I will."

Blake's smile widened, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

Although the silver eyed girl was still terrified of revealing her feelings to Weiss, she knew Blake was right. The cat faunus never would have gotten the chance to be with Yang if she hadn't told the blonde how she felt, and Ruby knew the same scenario applied to her and Weiss. Nothing would ever advance in their relationship if Ruby just sat back and waited for some miracle to happen. If she truly wanted to be with Weiss, she would have to be brave and tell Weiss the truth.

Ruby knew she wasn't brave enough yet, but someday she would be.

"S'up, s'up, Little Red?"

Both Ruby and Blake turned to look in the direction of the new voice, seeing Scarlet clad in a white T-shirt and ripped grey jeans. The boy was smirking; the red tattoo circling his dark left eye accented the mirth swimming within, the other eye covered by a wave of crimson hair. The left side of his head was shaved, fully displaying the numerous silver piercings on his left ear.

"Yo, Big Red," Ruby responded with a smirk of her own. She reached her arm out and fist bumped the boy that stood several inches above her. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," Scarlet replied. "Neptune brought the leftover weed from last time, so the boys and I are about to go light up in the woods behind school. Want to join us again?" He quickly glanced over to Blake. "I'd ask you to join as well, but Sun says you're not a fan of the grass."

"He's definitely right," Blake confirmed, crossing her arms. "Thanks anyway, though."

Scarlet gave a respectful nod to the faunus then looked back at Ruby.

"Sorry man, not this time," Ruby said. "I'm going job hunting today. Probably wouldn't leave the best impression if I walked in with bloodshot eyes."

"Ah, I get you. It's cool." The red haired boy turned to leave, but then peered back and casually pointed at the shorter girl. "Next time?"

Ruby nodded with a smile. "Next time. Thanks, Big Red."

"No probs, Little Red. See you later." Scarlet gave a toothy grin and started walking away, giving a lazy wave over his shoulder.

"Oh, wait!" Ruby suddenly called. Scarlet paused mid-step and looked back at her with a risen eyebrow. "We almost forgot to do the thing. And it's gonna be great 'cause Blake hasn't seen it yet."

"Huh?" Blake questioned, sounding caught off guard that she was suddenly brought into this conversation. "Seen what now?"

Neither Ruby nor Scarlet answered her, though. Instead, Scarlet lost his smirk and marched straight up to Ruby until he was towering over the girl who was missing her smile as well. Ruby took a moment to stare at his face, regarding his unique tattoo around his left eye and silently applauding his stoic expression. A few more long seconds past, Ruby fighting to keep her appearance emotionless as she grew giddier by the second.

This was going to be awesome.

In three... two... one...

At the same time, both she and Scarlet lowered their heads and then thrust them up and slightly to the side, dramatically flipping their hair out of their vision. Then, while staring directly at each other with hooded eyes, both teenagers' ran a hand slowly through their respective locks to smooth them over. They continued to hold their hand against the side of their heads, gazing at each other intensely and ignoring everyone else around them. And then, with a mutual head nod, Scarlet lowered his hand and walked off like nothing happened. Once the red haired boy turned the corner and was out of sight, Ruby smiled and dropped her arm as well.

"_What_ was that?"

Ruby burst into a fit of giggles that grew ever abundant when she spun around to see the bewildered expression on Blake's face.

"That, my dear friend, was a show of friendship," the brunette declared between giggles. "We both have hair that gets in our eyes, so one day we just decided to make a thing out of it."

Blake shook her head, expression never faltering. "I thought the nicknames were weird enough, but _that_... that was something else."

"I know! Isn't it awesome?"

Blake pinched the bridge of her nose. "Anyways," the amber eyed girl sighed, giving Ruby a pointed look, "Yang won't be happy to learn you're smoking pot at school."

Ruby smirked. "More like she won't be happy to learn I'm smoking it without _her_."

"... True enough." Blake released a heavy breath. "Those boys are bad influences, the lot of them."

"You're the one who introduced Yang to them, though," Ruby pointed out with a grin.

"I know, and I regret it every day." The faunus shifted her weight to lean against the lockers again. "Were you serious about the job hunting thing, by the way?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded firmly. "I plan to head out right now, actually, so you can walk home without me. If Yang gets home before I do, can you let her know what I'm doing?"

"Sure thing," Blake replied. Her eyes softened. "Be careful, okay?"

Silver eyes rolled playfully. "God, you and Yang are such worrywarts. I'll be fine. See you later!"

With a cheeky wave, Ruby weaved through the thinning array of students and made her way out of the school. She walked in a straight line across the parking lot littered with garbage, and then she crossed the road and directed herself towards the more populated part of town.

Soon enough, the buildings grew in size and started to look less shady. Sidewalks became more crowded and citizens were clad in cleaner attire, making Ruby feel even poorer than she already was. Ruby curled in on herself as she walked, hugging her bag tighter around her shoulders; although a lot of shifty people lived in the slums, they were people that Ruby was used to. They were people that Ruby knew were suffering as much as she was.

These middle and upper class people were the truly unpredictable ones. They lied, cheated and stole even though they could survive comfortably without doing so, and then they tried to fabricate justifications for their own actions. They tried to make it seem like their problems were actually significant, and then used those problems as excuses to do things that would make creepers in the slums look like caregivers in comparison. They looked down on people like Ruby with pity, distain, or both, but they had no idea what she'd been through. They knew nothing about her.

Ruby hated going to this part of town alone, mostly just for how everyone viewed her, but it was necessary if she wanted to look for a job. There weren't a lot of establishments in the slums, and Ruby had already been rejected from all the ones there she could find.

Both Yang and Blake were able to find jobs in this part of town, so Ruby was determined to do the same.

After crossing an intersection just as the hand stopped flashing red and turning a corner, Ruby spotted a few places she already tried applying at: a fast-food restaurant, a clothing store, and a pet shop. All of them offered really crappy positions and would only pay her minimum wage, but she'd be making much more money at those stores than with her morning dog-walking and weekend babysitting services. If she could at least make minimum wage, she'd finally be able to support Yang like Yang supports her.

However, much to her dismay, all of those establishments rejected Ruby for the same reason:

She's too young.

But her age wasn't something she could change, nor could she wait for her sixteenth birthday when she would be old enough to legally apply for most of those jobs. She was confident in her abilities, and she needed the money _now_.

She and Yang couldn't miss their electricity bill again.

After strolling a few more blocks, Ruby noticed a convenience store she'd never seen before. It was small, trapped between two larger buildings, the name "Fast and Curious" displayed in large green letters above the front door. From where she was, Ruby could see rows of snacks in the large glass windows, one customer browsing through them while the lone cashier waited behind the counter.

It was unlikely that she would get hired there, but it couldn't hurt to try. Also wouldn't be a bad idea to see what kind of food they offered.

Mind made up, Ruby hurried towards the store and stepped inside. A bell chimed.

"Welcome!" the cashier's deep, yet cheerful, voice greeted her immediately.

Ruby smiled nervously at the burly man, slightly intimidated by his size, before making her way around the small shop.

She was amazed at the variety the little convenience store offered. Chocolate bars, chips, soda, soups, slushy machines, coffee, many of these items from brands she'd never even heard of. She was disappointed at the prices of the items, though, even though she shouldn't have been surprised. All of these products were drastically cheaper at the Superstore, and with Yang's 10% employee discount it didn't make any sense for them to shop anywhere else.

But Ruby was well aware that the lack of food in their fridge equaled the amount of cash they had in their pockets. No matter where the sisters went, they wouldn't be able to afford dinner tonight.

Ruby wouldn't stand for that. Yang worked too hard to go hungry, and Ruby was determined to make sure her older sister got some dinner no matter what sort of drastic action it took.

Thus, once the red-clad girl was behind a row of products that blocked her from the cashier's vision, she silently unzipped her bag and cautiously filled it with items. Soups, canned vegetables, premade sandwiches, bags of nuts, and a few chocolate bars to satisfy Ruby's sweet tooth. That was all she figured she could get away with stealing without getting caught, so she zipped her bag closed again and quietly readjusted it to her back.

"Thank you, Sir. Have a good day!" Ruby heard the cashier say to the customer who just left the store. Perfect, that meant she was alone in there; she could quickly pass the man her resume and scurry away before he noticed anything was amiss.

Shaking off her growing nerves, Ruby made her way up to the cashier, pacing slowly to avoid disturbing the contents in her bag.

"Hello, Sir," Ruby greeted, ensuring her voice and smile was steady.

"Afternoon, Little Miss," the brawny man acknowledged with a nod that shook his long, dark beard. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I noticed your store while I was walking around, and I was wondering if you were hiring."

"Hmm." The man's large, charcoal eyes gave her a once over. Ruby fought not to squirm. "I wouldn't mind having a helper around here. Tell me a bit about yourself."

The young girl beamed. "My name is Ruby," she introduced cheerily. Finally, someone was giving her a chance! She carefully placed her bag on the floor and fumbled around for the zipper, planning to pull out her resume. "I'm fifteen and in school, but I'm a really hard worker and can be available whenever you—"

"Hold on, Little Miss."

Ruby paused, letting go of the zipper and looking up at him."What is it?"

The man sighed, scratching his beard. "I'm sorry, but there's two reasons why I can't hire you."

Ruby frowned, immediately feeling defensive as she stood up straight again. She was more than a little annoyed that he had gotten her hopes up just to shoot them down not a minute later. "And why's that?" she questioned sharply.

"Well, first off," he began, "you're too young." He looked slightly apologetic. "I'm not legally allowed to hire you unless you're at least sixteen."

Ruby clenched her fists, biting down roughly on her tongue to keep her anger in check. She knew his reason was completely reasonable, but hearing that same reason a dozen times over got unbelievably infuriating. Everyone looked down on her just because she was young. No one respected her or believed in her abilities. If someone just gave her a chance, she would prove how able she was; how hard of a worker she was.

Why was no one willing to give her that chance?

"And secondly," the man continued, gaining Ruby's attention again. She instantly noticed that the cashier's friendly demeanor was gone. The light in his eyes clouded over with darkness and his sympathetic expression morphed into a scowl, his entire body language screaming danger. Ruby's heartbeat quickened, no longer feeling safe under the man's gaze. Then, the man spoke again:

"I don't take kindly to thieves."

Ruby's eyes widened. In that one sentence she knew that she had no chance to explain herself to the man. She had to leave _right now_.

In one fluid movement, she took a step back, spun around, and used the momentum of the twirl to fling her schoolbag over her shoulders, all the items inside clanging loudly against each other. Without looking back, she booked it for the front door and shoved past it.

"Shoplifter!" the man boomed, making Ruby's stomach flip in fretfulness.

She kept running, only glancing back when she heard the door to the convenience store burst open. Instead of seeing the large cashier as she expected, a smaller man—a hedgehog faunus, from the look of it—with long blue hair exited the store, head darting around. When the faunus caught sight of her, he glowered and charged at her.

And he was _fast_.

Cursing inwardly, Ruby broke into a sprint, old sneakers slamming on the pavement in a panicked rhythm as she weaved her way through groups of people. She knew the weight on her back would shift around as she ran, thus affecting her speed and movement, so she reached a hand behind herself to hold her bag as steady as she was able.

She ran about two blocks like this, but the blue haired boy was still chasing her.

Ruby huffed, more from annoyance than exhaustion. If this guy was going to give her trouble, then she would have to start giving _him_ trouble. No way was she going to let him catch her. She had to get this food to Yang.

So at the next corner, she pushed off the balls of her feet and flung herself into an alley, dashing down its length. It was dark and cramped and reeked of trash, but Ruby was used to running in places like this. Not necessarily while someone was chasing her, but it was nothing more than an added challenge.

Time to put her parkour skills to the test.

Mindful of the ever-shifting weight on her back, she manoeuvred up two solid boxes and then pushed off of them, using her arms and legs to embrace a large, rusty pipe running the duration of the tall, brick building on her left. There were a few more similar pipes to her side, so she swiftly leaped from one pipe to the next to cross over a barbed fence that she wouldn't have been able to bypass normally. She dropped back to the ground, crouching low to break her fall.

She risked a quick glance back, silver eyes narrowing from seeing the hedgehog faunus copy her example and use the boxes to gain enough leverage to latch onto the pipes.

Clearly the boy was skilled. There was no way this was his first time doing this. However, whether he had an extreme sense of justice or he was just a similar parkour lover wasn't what Ruby was interested in.

What interested her was the challenge. Yes, getting this food to Yang was her highest priority, but she could have fun with this. Racing through the alleys—with the disadvantage of her bag, she might add—with someone equally as skilled right on her heels, someone who could climb the same walls and jump the same lengths... it excited her. She couldn't even remember the last time she felt her blood pump like this. Her chest shook in anticipation.

She was going to enjoy every second.

Fueled by adrenaline, Ruby rushed forward, hurriedly taking a left.

"Stop!" she heard the boy shout from around the corner. The red clad girl just grinned and ran faster, appreciating the burn building in her legs. She looked up and noticed a narrow space between two buildings that she could use to reach the next alley over. Quickly throwing her bag up into the space, she scaled the wall and grabbed the ledge, hoisting herself up with a loud groan. Reacquainting her bag straps with her shoulders, she sped through the length of the path and then hopped down into the next alley. She was forced into a frontwards roll to aid her fall, uncaring about how her hair and clothes were no doubt covered in dirt now.

She had two choices of which way to go in the few seconds it would take the boy to catch up to her. She could run back into the populated streets and blend in with the crowd, possibly ending the chase, or she could head even further into the alley, practically prompting the boy to follow her.

Her adrenaline wasn't satisfied yet, so she pushed even deeper into the gloomy alley. She passed by a homeless person's box as she ran, a thin blanket spilling out the front and some empty bottles and wrappers surrounding the makeshift home. Whoever lived there wasn't around—they were probably out begging for change. Normally, Ruby would have stopped and left them one of her sandwiches as a gift, but she didn't have that luxury right now.

Tearing her eyes away from the box, she forced herself to keep running and turned another corner.

Noticing another barbed fence several metres away, Ruby quickly analyzed the alley for a way around. She detected a few rods sticking out horizontally from the walls; she could use those like monkey bars to cross over the fence and continue down the alley if she could reach them. There were crates on the other side of the alley from the rods, but she was confident she could pull off the jump. So she hastily ascended the crates and made the leap without hesitation, successfully gripping the closest rod on the opposite wall. Smirking, she kept her fast pace by using one hand to grab each pipe as she swung between them like a monkey faunus.

The red clad girl absolutely loved the feeling in her chest right now. The thrill of the chase; the enjoyment of the run; the satisfaction of the blood pumping through her veins... she loved it all. Not only was she thoroughly enjoying herself, but she was outrunning that guy. Despite how speedy he was, Ruby was used to these alleyways. And even the ones she wasn't used to she could adjust to easily enough. Every box, every pipe, every stair; her eyes were keen on acknowledging every piece of leverage and escape route. She knew she would have no problem avoiding him for good.

Everything was going so well. It was nice to Ruby to know that she would finally be able to treat her older sister tonight.

At least she was good for something, right?

As Ruby seized the last rod, however, her body jolted in shock as the rod shifted. The rusted metal shaft bent under her weight, so instead of Ruby heading straight as she originally was, the rod now sent her flying into the alley to the right. Unprepared for the sudden alteration in direction, Ruby lost her grip and started plummeting to the ground.

And right into someone's path, apparently.

"Look out!" Ruby shouted as she dropped, knowing she would crash into this person if they didn't move out of the way in time.

At the last second, the person twirled around, pointed red heels scratching the dirt and lengthy raven locks soaring over her shoulder. Ruby briefly caught sight of narrowed amber eyes before the person wrapped their arms around Ruby's form as she fell, causing them both to tumble to the ground but softening Ruby's fall in the process. Ruby groaned, the weight of her backpack crushing her against the person beneath her. And despite this person saving her from what would have, no doubt, been a dangerous fall, it was still painful.

Ruby shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of her sudden headache, but paused when she realized her face was pressed against something much more pleasant than the ground. Comprehending that her nose was buried in a large pair of breasts, Ruby blushed up to her roots and quickly pulled her head back, gazing up at the woman through her eyelashes.

Immediately, her breath caught.

Staring down at her were the two amber eyes she had seen moments ago, but now that she had the opportunity to gawk at them, the young thief was mesmerized. They reminded her somewhat of Blake's eyes, but what made them so different and so alluring to Ruby was how much they reminded her of fire. They were a bright, yellow shade, alike to that of molten metal, which warmed to orange around her pupils. They were surrounded by long, thick eyelashes, and they were gazing at her so intensely that Ruby shyly looked away, unable to handle looking at the woman directly.

In that moment of weakness, Ruby couldn't help but admire this woman's other features.

She had a straight-edged nose that led to full, rosy lips. Her skin was completely blemish free and was nearly as pale as Weiss's, like porcelain, accented by high cheekbones. Her long black hair that faded to an ashen grey at the tips fanned over the ground, providing a view of her beautifully curved ears with gold hoop earrings, a black gem dangling from each. Her jaw was taut and strong, giving way to a graceful, slender neck, Ruby's gaze trailing down to meet a lean collarbone that was visible thanks to the woman's red, shoulderless, long-sleeved cotton shirt.

Ruby's stomach flipped when she felt the woman's fingertips gently rub her lower back just under her bag. She didn't think it was possible, but she felt her face burn even redder. What made it even worse was that she noticed the woman's eyes brighten slightly at her reaction, no doubt knowing that her actions were the cause. The woman kept rubbing her back through her hoodie, the thick garment nowhere near thick enough to shield Ruby from the woman's touch.

Ruby bit her tongue, trying not to squirm under the woman's heated gaze and curious hands. Who was this woman? Why was she touching her? Why did it feel so nice?

The amber eyed woman smiled and suddenly every coherent thought vanished from Ruby's mind. All that mattered now was this woman's smile and the feeling of her fingers dragging along her lower back.

How did she end up in this situation again? Ruby couldn't quite remember. Something about... something about running, right? Yeah, she was running from something. That's how she—literally—ran into this woman. Why was she running, though? What did she do? She must have been in quite a rush if she couldn't even—

"Stop!"

Ruby froze, the boy's voice ringing in her head like an alarm system.

That's right. She stole things. Someone was chasing her.

She had to get this food to Yang.

Ruby quickly pushed away from the woman, barely noticing her delicate eyebrows angle in confusion at her actions as she hastily scanned the area for a hiding place. Normally she would have just continued running, but she was still shaken from her fall—and from her encounter with this woman—so she knew she wouldn't be able to run to the best of her ability. Not to mention how close the boy sounded. He would probably turn the corner at any second. So, for her safety, her best option was to hide.

Spotting a box that would hide her from the boy's gaze when he turned the corner, Ruby dived behind it. She stayed in a kneeling position in case she had to make a break for it, but crouched low to the ground so the hedgehog faunus wouldn't be able to spot her from above. Looking forward, she was able to see the woman who was still lying on her back, amber eyes peering at her with interest. Slightly panicked that the woman's gaze may give away her position, Ruby hastily raised a finger to her lips in a shushing motion, and then clamped said hand over her mouth to quiet her breathing.

Not a moment later, she heard hurried footsteps pound around the corner and rush past the box she hid behind.

"Are you okay, Miss?" the boy asked, Ruby barely hearing his voice over the hammering of her heart in her ears. She quickly realized he was talking to the other woman. The blue haired boy extended his hand, the mysterious woman readily grasping it and allowing him to lift her to her feet.

Despite her situation, Ruby couldn't help but admire this woman's height in heels. She was nearly as tall as Pyrrha, and that girl was pushing six feet.

"I'm fine, thank you," the ashen haired woman said, wiping some dirt off her red shirt and tight black pants. Her words were so smooth and sultry that Ruby couldn't suppress a shiver. Just who was that woman?

"That's good to hear," the boy continued. His voice was kind, but held a reasonable sense of urgency. "Did you happen to see a girl in red run through here? Her scent is all over you."

Ruby froze again, chomping her lip to hold in a gasp. Shit. When she was hiding, she didn't even consider that the boy's faunus properties would increase his sense of smell exponentially. That's probably how he was able to follow her despite all the tricky corners she turned. And even though her scent encircling the other woman was distracting him for now, it was only a matter of time before he realized her scent was stronger behind this box.

Dammit, she was so close! She couldn't get caught now! She had to bring this food back to her sister. She had to!

What good was she if she couldn't even help out her sister?

"I did see her," the woman confirmed with a nod. Ruby's heart slammed painfully against her ribcage, anxiously awaiting the moment her position would be revealed. All her hard work would be for nought in a minute. The theft, the chase, the planning... all of it would be meaningless. The scenario of Yang's proud grin at her efforts and how she would ruffle Ruby's short hair in a way that Ruby pretended to hate suddenly perished from her mind.

All of it would be gone because she was a useless—

The woman pointed behind her to the busy, open streets. "She went that way."

"Thank you, Miss! Have a good day!" The blue haired boy then rushed like the speed of sound out of the alley, disappearing beyond a corner.

Ruby blinked.

What... just happened?

"You can come out now," the woman coaxed, posture relaxed. She flipped her dark hair over one shoulder, the tresses blocking the view of her left eye.

Ruby hesitantly rose to her feet, having trouble comprehending what just occurred.

This stranger... saved her?

"Don't be shy," the woman urged, her voice reminding Ruby of honey and poison at the same time; smooth and sweet, yet hazardous and lethal. She pointed a red fingernail at Ruby and gestured for her to come closer, alerting a flutter of butterflies low in Ruby's stomach. "Come here."

Ruby obeyed, taking slow, cautious steps until she was only a foot away from the woman. She gazed up into those blazing, hypnotic eyes that somehow made her feel small and powerless, and she couldn't help but wonder...

"Who are you?"

Ruby's eyes widened when she realized she had asked that aloud in a voice a few pitches higher than normal. The woman grinned, catlike and mischievous, making Ruby's cheeks blossom with pink.

"My name is Cinder," the long haired woman spoke, the words rolling sultrily off her tongue and wrapping themselves around Ruby's throat, temporally making Ruby forget how to breathe. The woman's smirk grew. "What's yours?"

Ruby's mouth opened and closed several times, tongue twisting in agony as she fought for words that would make her seem like less of a fool than how she felt. "M-My name is... Ruby."

Cinder hummed appreciatively, reaching forward to tuck a rebellious strand of brunette hair behind Ruby's ear. "Pretty name."

Ruby's heart pounded in her chest, continuing to beat an irregular pattern as Cinder's nails gently scratched behind her ear. She chomped on her tongue so hard she was sure she drew blood, just to combat the pleasurable shiver that wanted to leech down her spine.

Just who was this woman? How was it possible that, with just a few words and gentle touches, she was able to manipulate Ruby's every thought?

She was scary, yet she was so _alluring_, and Ruby was caught between wanting to stay lost in Cinder's gaze and booking it out of the alley.

"Why did you save me?" Ruby questioned quietly, so quietly that she wasn't even sure if Cinder had heard her, yet she felt it impossible to raise her voice any higher.

Cinder chuckled, a low rumble that made Ruby weak in the knees. "Because you were trembling like a frightened pup, Little Jewel," she exclaimed smoothly, Ruby's chest warming at the nickname. "Besides," the amber eyed woman thumbed the shell of Ruby's ear, "I found you first. And I don't like sharing my things with little boys."

Ruby couldn't control her shivers this time. "Y-You don't even care what I did?"

The taller woman threw her head back in a laugh, soft and charming like a choir of flutes. "What you did is irrelevant. I've probably done worse."

Ruby didn't have the mental strength to ask what that meant. In all honesty, she really didn't want to know.

So instead, she asked something else, something that had been bugging her since she first eyed the woman.

"Why are you here in these alleys?" Cinder's golden orbs flickered between hers and she pursed her lips, as if contemplating how to reply. However, she never voiced an answer. Unable to handle the budding silence, Ruby hastily added, "It's dangerous here, y'know."

Cinder's eyes lit up as if she were about to laugh again, but instead the dark haired woman smirked.

"Trust me, Little Jewel," Cinder began, caressing Ruby's cheek with her knuckles, "you will never find anything more dangerous in these alleys than me."

She dragged her nails along Ruby's alabaster skin as she pulled away, leaving four glaring red lines across her cheek that would burn pleasantly for a minute before fading away. With a final look over her shoulder, Cinder turned and walked away. Ruby's eyes were glued to her swaying hips and long, slender legs, heart beating in rhythm with the click of Cinder's heels until the woman disappeared further down the alley.

Ruby blinked, her mind's eye still focussed on the lava-like depths that gazed down on her with superior authority. It took all of Ruby's willpower not to let her knees buckle.

What. The hell. Was _that_?

Ruby lifted a hand to her cheek, tracing over the temporary lines where Cinder had marked her. She couldn't get over the way Cinder had touched her—hell, she couldn't believe that she even _let_ Cinder touch her. Stranger danger, and all. But Ruby felt powerless to resist. Sure, Yang and Blake had combed her hair and stroked her back and held her close, but something about Cinder's touch was different.

It was _exciting_.

And that scared Ruby more than anything had in a long time. Other than her promise to confess to Weiss, of course.

She shook her head in a desperate attempt to remove the woman's form from her vision and her alluring tone from her eardrums. She was thankful when she felt her backpack shift with her erratic movements, suddenly remembering why her backpack was so heavy. She took a few deep breaths and made a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching her before heading out to the open streets.

She had a meal to prepare.

* * *

><p>"Honey, I'm home!" Yang announced, bursting through the front door of her house. A glance at her watch had the time 5:10 p.m. blinking back at her. Pretty good time, considering she had left work a little late. Not long after her sister's crush had left her cash, there were a bunch of idiotic assholes that started bugging her. They were probably doing one of those lists on Facebook along the lines of "20 things to do next time you're at the Superstore," and it drove Yang absolutely crazy. From yelling obscene profanities, dancing around her cash, and giggling at their immature purchases, Yang's fists were itching to punch something.<p>

But she held back. Didn't want to lose her job. Those idiots forced her to extend her shift by ten minutes, but she kept her temper in check by thinking about Ruby.

Ruby needed the money this job gave her. Yang wouldn't let some morons fuck everything over for her family.

"Yeah, yeah," she heard Ruby respond from the kitchen. Her words were exasperated, but she could sense her baby sister's petite smile.

"Something smells good, Rubes," Yang noted, shrugging off her jacket and slipping out of her boots, her aching feet practically sighing in relief. "Whatcha makin' over there?"

"Come and see."

Yang obeyed, feet padding softly on the carpet until they reached the hardwood floor of the kitchen. Inside, she saw Ruby stirring a large pot of beef stew on the stove. On the counter beside her were a bowl of vegetables, some sandwiches in little baggies, and bags of salted peanuts.

Ruby turned to look at her, the biggest smile on her face.

"Ruby..." Yang breathed, wide gaze flickering between the varied amounts of food. She knew for a fact that none of this food was there when she left for work that morning. "Where did you get all this?"

Her sister gave her a sheepish look.

Yang also knew for a fact that they didn't have the money to afford however much those items would've cost. "You stole them, didn't you?"

Ruby shrugged, an uncaring motion, but it was obvious that she did care. There was guilt in her eyes, even though all she did was steal some cheap food. She didn't look regretful of her theft though, which was good, but she had to hear Ruby say it.

"You remember what I taught you, right?" Yang questioned, allowing her voice to become stern as she crossed her arms.

Ruby grunted. "Yes Yang," she droned, stirring the stew again. Damn, it smelled good. Yang couldn't remember the last time she had decent tasting stew.

"Repeat it to me," the blonde demanded.

The shorter girl groaned, irritated silver eyes leering over her shoulder into Yang's. "'Steal for your family, not for—'"

"The _whole_ thing," Yang clarified.

"For the love of God, Yang." Ruby switched off the stove and turned fully around, staring directly up at her sister. "'Don't talk shit, don't cut slack. Always run forward, never look back. Offer a hand, offer a kiss. If someone's an ass, offer a fist. Steal for your family, not for greed. Face down your problems, then proceed. Keep your cool, don't get upset. Live and learn, but never regret.'" Ruby crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Happy?"

"Very." Yang grinned toothily from ear to ear. She messily ruffled Ruby's hair, the younger girl struggling against the attention and trying to swat her hand away. "I'm so proud that you've memorized all that."

After Ruby escaped the agony of Yang's hand, she smoothed out her red-tipped locks and replied, "Not that hard when you repeat it to me _every single day_."

"Hey, don't diss my motto. There's lots of good morals in there."

Ruby sighed. "I know, I know."

Yang's stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly. Instead of being embarrassed, Yang just rubbed her gut proudly. "Were you careful?" the blonde asked, nodding at the food.

"Phht," Ruby cackled a little forcefully. "O-Of course I was, Yang. Who do you take me for? An amateur?"

"... You totally got caught, didn't you?"

Ruby's shoulders sagged, that response answering her question better than words ever could, but Ruby was quick to signal her hands dismissively to quell Yang's rising panic. "Don't worry, Sis," the brunette said. "He was fast, but I managed to get away."

Ruby's silver eyes glazed over like clouds, blocking some emotion behind her eyes. Yang automatically knew something was up.

"The vagueness of that answer ultimately proves that something else happened." Yang leaned forward. "So spill."

"W-What?" Ruby spluttered, waving her hands wildly. "W-What are you on about, Yang? Of course nothing else happened! Just a simple chase. Point A to Point B, you know? Nothing special, just your regular, everyday theft!"

"My disbelief is about as strong as my hunger right now, but I feel like that stew is calling my name, so I'll let you off the hook. For now. But I expect to hear all the gory details later."

Ruby blushed and looked away, grumbling something about having no respect for her privacy, which just made Yang grin. Ruby's business was Yang's business. That's how it's always been and Yang had no plans of changing that any time soon.

Yang's stomach grumbled again, so she took a quick look around. She purposely walked into the living room and peeked over the couch, finding the floor empty unlike in the morning. "I'm assuming Dad's not here?" Yang asked.

"Why would Dad be here?" Ruby's voice deadpanned from the kitchen.

Yang shrugged to herself. Fair point.

The blonde leaped over the couch and then strolled past the kitchen, a clear goal in mind.

"Where are you going?" Ruby questioned curiously.

Yang grinned and cracked her knuckles. "To drag the cat in."

The blonde opened the door beyond the kitchen and crossed the short hallway into Blake and Adam's house, the layout exactly the same other than everything being on the opposite side. It disoriented Yang the first time she saw this mirrored version of her own home, but she got over it after the first couple of visits.

Strolling upstairs, making no effort to conceal her heavy footfalls, she made her way over to Blake's room and pushed open the door, seeing the cat faunus curled up on her bed with a book in hand and a cup of steaming tea at her side.

"Yo!" Yang greeted with a wave, feet dragging against plush black carpet to get closer to Blake's bed.

"What do you want, Yang?" Blake asked dully, amber eyes never leaving her page.

"It's dinner time!" the blonde announced with a grin. She suddenly swooped down and wrapped an arm around Blake's abdomen, hoisting the ebony haired girl over her shoulder.

Blake sighed at the blonde's over-extravagant actions, but didn't fight back. No doubt she was used to this kind of thing by now. So, instead, she fidgeted slightly to get more comfortable as she dangled on Yang's shoulder, the taller girl's muscular arm keeping her secure, and continued reading her book.

"I thought all you had to eat was some leftover rice," Blake remarked, flipping a page. It wasn't a question. Yang had let Blake know of her and Ruby's financial situation shortly after Blake and Adam had moved in, as they had become good friends quite rapidly. It helped that Blake's money situation wasn't the best either, so they could relate to each other in that sense. At least Adam's line of work got Blake enough cash to pay the bills, though.

"I thought so too, until about ten minutes ago when Ruby told me she stole some food," Yang explained, walking downstairs with Blake in tow.

"She stole again?" The faunus's voice was a mixture of disbelief and understanding.

Yang nodded. "It was to support her family. Surely you of all people get that." Blake never responded, but Yang was sure the girl heard her and understood. "I think she was a bit sloppy this time around, though. Probably let her emotions take over."

"How do you figure?" Another page turn.

"Because something happened that she's not telling me." Yang shrugged, feeling Blake's weight shift on her shoulder. "I can't say whether it's bad or good, but I'm extremely curious."

"She'll tell you in due time, Yang," Blake confirmed. "You know how Ruby likes to sort out her problems on her own, sometimes."

"Makes her feel more grown up," Yang agreed. "Yeah, you're right. I'll get an answer from her eventually, though."

"Of course. I'd expect nothing less of you."

"Damn right."

Another few long strides and Yang was back in her own house. She hurried past Ruby, who was taking the vegetables out of the microwave, and then plopped Blake onto one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table before sitting in the spot beside her best friend.

"Hi, Blake!" Ruby greeted with a smile, bringing the vegetables, sandwiches, and nuts to the table, followed by the plates, cups and utensils.

"Evening, Ruby," Blake responded, finally closing her book and setting it on the table. "How'd the job hunting go?"

The short haired girl chuckled nervously. "Hehe, well, y'know..." she trailed off, reaching up to the cupboards to acquire three bowls and proceeded to pour some beef stew into all of them, probably to distract herself.

"I heard some theft was involved," the faunus added.

Ruby visibly flinched, almost dropping the ladle she was using to scoop the stew. "At least I didn't get caught," the red clad girl eventually said, placing the three bowls on the kitchen table and taking a seat across the table from Blake and Yang. "I was way too fast for him."

Yang started giggling uncontrollably, causing the other two occupants at the table to stare at her. "What?" Ruby questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Her giggles ceasing for a moment, the blonde spoke, "That's what she said," and then burst into pits of laughter again.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, blushing in embarrassment. "Ew, no!"

"Yang, don't you _dare_ start that again," Blake warned, frowning. "That one barely even worked, anyway."

"Start what again?" Yang asked innocently, biting her tongue to ward off a grin.

"Last week you would not stop saying that _stupid_ phrase. Every time I was with you my two sets of ears had to suffer hearing about it." The amber eyed girl sighed. "It was such a pain in my ass."

Yang brought a hand up to her mouth, but couldn't stop the onslaught of giggles that followed.

Blake's cat ears drooped. "Yang, no."

"Don't do it, Sis," Ruby agreed, still slightly flustered.

Yang took a deep breath and cupped her hands around her mouth in preparation to yell, but the looks on the two girls faces made her pity them just a bit. With a final snigger, she said, "Just kidding," and then lowered her arms back to the wooden surface.

Her stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly again, drawing a giggle from Ruby and a smirk from Blake. Mirroring that smirk with one of her own, Yang announced, "Let's eat!"

The three girls proceeded to grab their respective stew bowls and sandwiches as well as their portions of vegetables and nuts. Although the meal was simple and still relatively small, to Yang—and no doubt Ruby, too—it was like a five star meal. It was a rarity to see so much food on their table at the same time; even rarer to see food that was even somewhat healthy.

Yang was still pissed at herself for not initially having enough food to feed Ruby tonight, but she was unbelievably proud of her sister for making this meal possible. She knew that Ruby felt useless sometimes—because Yang had to drop out of school and work two jobs to support her—and this really drove Ruby to do some extreme things. Which is clearly what led to Ruby's shoplifting at a store she originally meant to apply to.

Even though Yang knew Ruby wouldn't get hired yet because of her age, it warmed her heart to see Ruby trying so hard. It was obvious how much she wanted to contribute to this family and how much she loved her sister despite how little was going for them.

Thinking of jobs sparked Yang's memory of what happened to her earlier today. "Guess who I saw at work today?" Yang asked Ruby, taking a large mouthful of her ham sandwich, cherishing the flavour. The brunette popped a spoonful of stew in her mouth and held the utensil with her lips, tilting her head adorably to the side in curiosity. Yang grinned. "_Your girlfriend_."

"_Yang_!" Ruby sputtered, grasping the spoon to stop it from falling to the table. A flush spread from Ruby's cheeks down her neck. "Weiss is _not_ my girlfriend!"

"Not _yet_," Yang corrected smugly.

"Especially since you said you would confess to her," Blake added.

"_What_?" Yang exclaimed loudly with a shit-eating grin, causing Ruby to hunch in on herself. "This is news to me."

"I said I would confess to her _eventually_," Ruby stressed. She nibbled on some beans, her voice decreasing to a murmur. "I'm not ready to tell her yet."

"C'mon, Sis, it's not that hard," Yang encouraged. "Just go up to her and say, 'Hey, Baby, I like you in those pants but I'd like you even more in mine,' and voila! Problem solved."

"Yang, that's _horrible_ advice!" Ruby shrieked, covering her rapidly reddening face.

"What?" Yang shrugged. "It worked on Blake."

"You're such a liar." When the cat faunus gave no verbal response, Ruby peeked from between her fingers to look at her. "She _is_ lying, right?"

Blake just sighed, acquainting her forehead with her palm. "Why did I date you again?" she asked Yang.

Said girl grinned. "Because you love me."

Blake didn't respond for a moment, but then she gazed up at Yang and smiled. Yang's heart skipped a beat—something that only Blake had been able to cause within her—and shyly smiled back.

Ruby groaned. "Can you guys at least wait until night-time before you start doing... _that_ again? I'd rather not have nightmares while I'm still awake."

Blake blushed brightly—something Yang found extremely cute—but the blonde herself just guffawed heartily, far from embarrassed. Her younger sister had heard her with her partners way too many times to count at this point, so it didn't even bother her anymore. It barely bothered her to begin with, actually.

"You won't have to worry about that tonight, Ruby," Yang reassured, stuffing the last bite of her sandwich down her throat and lifting her bowl to her lips, gulping down the rest of the beef stew. She slammed the bowl back on the table and licked her lips. "I have to head off to work."

Blake frowned, her cheeks pale as porcelain once again. "They're giving you a shift there even though you already worked at the Superstore today?"

"Yeah, it's pretty dumb," Yang agreed with a nod. She stood up and brought her dishes to the kitchen sink, plopping them inside. "Money is money, though. I'd gladly take more shifts if it meant I could get food on this table for you two."

"I have my own job, Yang," Blake argued, probably more in sake of her independence rather than rudeness. "I make enough to scrape by."

"Just so you can eat alone while Adam is off doing his thing? No," Yang countered gently, turning back to face her ex-girlfriend. "You're family, Blake. You eat with us."

"I agree!" Ruby chimed in, laying a hand on Blake's shoulder. The cat faunus glanced between the two sisters, lips parting open as if to reply, to debate, but ultimately sighed in defeat and then offered a smile.

"Anyways," Yang started, "I'm gonna go freshen up, grab my other work clothes and then head off." She looked at her baby sister. "Thanks for the dinner, Ruby. It was awesome."

"No problem, Sis," the short haired girl replied with a nod. Then she gave a toothy smile. "Have fun at the bar!"

"You know it!"

Yang caught Blake's knowing look and it took everything she had to keep her smile steady. She hurried up the stairs and entered her room, only then letting her smile fall. She sighed and leaned against her door for a moment, staring blankly at the white ceiling. She _really_ didn't want to go to her second job. She hated her second job.

Almost as much as she hated her dad.

But she knew she had to go. For more than one reason.

She walked over to her closet and pulled out a bag that contained her second set of work clothes, ones that differed entirely from her first set. To the regular person, these garments would make it look like Yang was ready for a raunchy night out rather than an evening shift at a professional workplace.

Too bad her evening shift at her _professional workplace_ was as raunchy as they come.

As she fingered her way through the skimpy dresses, lacy underwear and fishnet stockings, only one thought pushed past the importance of how much she hated her second job.

Ruby could never find out the truth.

* * *

><p>Multi-coloured lights flashed in blinding streaks and the club music pulsed throughout Yang's form, the blonde accepting the deafening noise as motivation to dance harder. Clad in light blue undergarments and matching fishnet gloves and stockings, Yang twisted her body around the pole, her thick mane frolicking around her form. At a high point in the song she wrapped her legs around the pole and used her core strength to keep herself in the air, and then bent backwards to give her audience a generous view of her chest.<p>

Not even a dozen men's eyes were on her, but she hated the feeling that slithered in her gut all the same. It was a slow night, but to Yang, having even one stranger's eyes mentally undress her made her want to lose her dinner.

She absolutely hated it. She hated being watched by them, but she knew she wouldn't be doing her job right if they weren't. She hated stripping for them even more, but she knew that the more clothes she lost, the more money she gained.

So, with a fierce bite of her tongue, she let her underwear fall to her feet and listened to the men graciously holler. Yang tried her best to ignore her watchers and just continued dancing, attempting to be as sexy as possible despite her internal conflict. She leaned forward and cupped her breasts, distinctly noting some lien being thrown her way as she did so.

On all fours she crept across the stage to one of the steel poles, pulling herself up. During her ascent, her lilac orbs directed towards the woman working behind the bar, handing out some blue tinted drinks to some customers. Yang's eyes hardened. All that woman had to do was serve drinks. The bartender may get hit on occasionally, but she never had to objectivity herself for money.

That's the job that Yang told Ruby she had. After all, once someone was sixteen they were legally allowed to buy and serve alcohol, so there would be nothing questionable or suspicious about Yang working behind the bar.

If anyone—other than Blake—knew the truth about Yang's night-time employment, however, shit would hit the fan so hard the fan would explode in a whirlwind of feces. Not just because everyone would judge and look down on her, but because being a stripper at seventeen was _beyond_ illegal. She would get in shit if the police found out, as would her boss.

And as much as she wanted to get her boss locked away, there were consequences that kept her from doing so.

Yang noticed the song coming to an end, so she gave a grateful, internal sigh and executed one final twirl on the pole.

"Give it up for Goldilocks, everyone," the DJ a floor above announced to the audience who clapped at her performance, the final bits of lien being thrown on stage for her. "She'll be here for a few more hours, so don't miss out!"

Yang drowned out the DJ and the clapping as she hastily adorned her underwear and tight, pink dress she had shed beforehand, and quickly pocketed her lien before heading down the stairs and off the stage. She plopped herself into one of the brown leather chairs against the wall, giving her feet that have been trapped in hot pink, six-inch heels a well deserved break.

The cheering soon dissolved and the customers went back to their idle conversation.

The blonde sighed outwardly when she was sure no one was staring at her. She pulled out her phone and took a quick glance at the time, frowning when she confirmed the DJ was correct in how she'd be stuck here for a few more hours, but she knew she'd have to tough it out. This job was tiring, humiliating, frightening, and extremely illegal, but she had to stick with it.

Even though Ruby didn't know the truth of what she was doing, her baby sister was counting on her.

Yang refused to let her down.

"Hey, Goldilocks. Good job out there. You looked _stunning_."

Yang looked over at the voice to see Morrigan, a fellow stripper with waist length sea-green hair who bested Yang by several years. The tall woman's green eyes were sparkling with mischief, rosy lips turned in a slight smile. Her porcelain skin was flawless and her breasts were even larger than Yang's, accented by her tight black corset. The rest of her outfit consisted of orange fingerless gloves, violet stockings and tall black boots.

"Thanks, Morrigan," Yang replied, eyes glued to the woman's form as her body curved to gracefully sit in the adjacent leather chair.

Yang swallowed. The sight of the green haired woman filled Yang with a mixture of relief and excitement. Relief because Morrigan was the one who had helped her most since her first shift. She taught her how to dance, how to be sexy, how to coax the most money out of men. She was her teacher, really, and Yang had a sense of respect for the twenty-something woman because of it. Also, Morrigan tended to talk to her anytime she was bored or feeling uneasy at work, and she provided much better conversation than any of the horny and drunk customers.

And Yang's excitement stemmed from remembering how good Morrigan was in bed.

"I saw you dancing earlier," Yang forced out of her throat, "you were awesome." Yang winced at her pathetic compliment. She always did have trouble complimenting people who made her nervous.

"Thank you, Sweetie. I aim to please." Morrigan crossed one long leg over the other, stretching the material of her leggings. "Not like it's difficult to please these heaps of hormones. Most of them are only here to escape their uptight wives."

"Well, if they're willing to spend hundreds of lien on us, no wonder their wives are so uptight."

Morrigan laughed softly, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "Touché, Goldilocks. You've gained insight from working here."

Yang ignored her last sentence and focussed more on how Morrigan referred to Yang by her stage name. It was weird having someone she almost considered a friend call her that name, but not even Morrigan knew her true name. No one other than her boss knew her real name. If anyone else found out, people could trace down her age if they were determined enough. Despite hating this job with a passion, getting blabbed about to the police was not the way she wanted to lose it.

She just couldn't take that risk.

Morrigan never questioned her decision to hide her real name though, so Yang was thankful for that.

"Oh my, look at who's dancing next."

At Morrigan's sly words, Yang's gaze snapped back up to the stage. Walking down the set of stairs from the second floor to the stage were two girls, a set of twins, one garbed in white and the other in red.

"Oooh, you're all in for a treat tonight!" the DJ announced as the two girls hit the stage. "Regulars here will recognize these beauties, but for all you newcomers let me inform you of who you're about to see. Our twin beauties, the stars of our club and our stage, please give a warm welcome to the Malachite Twins!"

The Malachite Twins—Melanie and Miltiades were their first names, in white and red respectively—smiled and waved to the customers, and Yang watched in a strange mixture of envy and disgust as over twice the amount of customers she had suddenly surrounded the stage, ready to piss away their lien.

Yang couldn't say she was surprised, though. The Malachite Twins had been the stars of the club ever since they became legal to dance last year. They were infamous for their fluid movements and amazing ability to dance completely in sync with each other, not to mention the rather... _improper_ acts they sometimes performed with each other on stage. They were mesmerizing, a complete showstopper, and every night there were men ready to sacrifice their pay checks for them.

What made them really special, though—at least in Yang's mind—, were that they were her boss's daughters. Somewhere in that sick head of his, he thought it would be a good idea to hire his own children at his strip club and pawn money off of them.

That man was a unique kind of fucked up.

A new song echoed throughout the club and the twins were quick to shed their clothing and hop onto separate poles, climbing and twirling effortlessly. At this point, their fallen outfits were practically buried in lien.

"Those girls really know how to put on a show, don't they?" Morrigan commented with a lustful undertone, eyes half-lidded.

"Oh yeah," Yang replied, more bitterly than she intended to. She didn't actually have anything against the twins. They were actually quite kind to her and had a great sense of humor. But Yang's jealously at how easily they gained lien from the customers was something that was hard to overcome.

That money could help secure Ruby's future.

The blonde and her mentor watched the rest of the dance in silence, observing every step and spin. At one point Melanie approached Miltiades as she danced and fondled her breasts from behind, something that made Yang wince yet caused the men to holler. Apparently, to some people, incest was irrelevant as long as it was girl-on-girl.

That reason was proof enough that a lot of the customers needed to stop drinking.

Soon enough the song ended, the twins gathering up their respective garments and disappearing up the stairs.

"And there you have it, folks, our beautiful Malachite twins!" the DJ announced over the roar of cheers. "They'll be back out in a few minutes for another dance, so don't you go anywhere!"

Yang sighed, kind of thankful that it was over for now. Normally, Yang was prideful in the confidence she held herself in. Even if she was going to make a fool of herself, she would try her very best and do it with a smile.

But something about this place made her feel insignificant.

"Relax yourself, Little One," Morrigan cooed, laying a hand on her shoulder. "You're all tense."

Yang sighed, knowing she was letting her emotions get the better of her. At this place, that was dangerous. "I'm sorry," Yang replied.

Morrigan never responded, instead snaking her hand to the back of Yang's neck and using her lengthy nails to gently scratch at the delicate skin. Yang felt her shoulders hunch up slightly in reaction to the foreign sensation before falling again, a large shiver cascading down her spine. That felt really good. Yang closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax under the older woman's touch.

After a few moments, Yang let out a long breath and opened her eyes. "Thank you," she murmured, gazing at the woman across from her.

Morrigan never gave a verbal response, but offered a smile as she stood up from the chair. "I'm off to entertain our guests," Morrigan stated shamelessly. That woman wasn't shy at all. "Have fun, Sweetie. I look forward to seeing you dance again."

Yang felt her cheeks turn pink as Morrigan winked and walked off, her hips swinging in such a seductive manner that it had to be on purpose. Of course the woman would end their conversation by saying something like that. Leave it to her to calm Yang's nerves and then make them skyrocket again in less than thirty seconds.

The blonde took a deep breath to calm down and used this down time to observe the activity at the club. The stage was still empty—waiting for the twins to return—and a few stray strippers were making light conversation with some customers. A solid chunk of the customers were at the tables near the bar, most likely because there was better lighting provided and so they could have ongoing drinks throughout the night.

Yang wished that _she_ could have ongoing drinks throughout the night. She'd kill for a beer right now.

"Good evening, Goldilocks."

Yang looked up, seeing a tall man clad in a fancy white shirt and black dress pants. His short hair and stubble was greying, and Yang guessed that he was in his late 40s or early 50s.

"Hi," Yang greeted with a forced smile. She already knew what he wanted and she was not looking forward to it.

"May I ask for a dance?" he asked her, just as she predicted. The man seemed polite, kind even, but she still didn't want to dance for him. She didn't want to dance for anyone, really. If she had to choose, though, she would much prefer dancing either for young, awkward guys or for women. Awkward guys were too shy to be rude or rough with her, and women actually interested in getting dances were so rare that Yang took advantage of that every time they showed up. Women were softer and tended to be gentler in their touches, not to mention they understood what it was like to be so sexually objectified.

"Of course," Yang replied. She stood up and took hold of his large hand, guiding him towards the back room. The room was large and filled with leather couches, making it easy for several strippers to give customers dances at the same time. Each of the couches were blocked by short walls from the sides though, offering a decent amount of privacy for everyone. The walls were covered in purple tinted glass, the lights shining upon them giving the room a hypnotic vibe.

A few other strippers were already giving dances in the room, so she led the much older man to a couch far away from them. He sat down and spread his legs, relaxing his body so naturally that it was obvious how much he frequented similar clubs. It took every ounce of willpower Yang had to fight off the anxiety in her gut.

Once the song blaring from the speakers in the main room switched, Yang sultrily removed her clothes and crawled on top of the man, pushing her bust against his chest and breathing against his neck. She felt him smile and run his large hands down her bare back.

_Don't touch me_, Yang thought, goosebumps following the warmth of his hands. _Please don't touch me_. He reached down lower and kneaded her ass, and instead of punching him like she wanted to do, she instead whimpered into his ear, making him think that she enjoyed it.

The blonde flipped her position and laid her back on his chest, reaching her arm behind his shoulders to scratch at the back of his neck, copying Morrigan's ministrations from earlier. He hummed in approval and ran his fingertips up and down her abdomen, spending ample time rubbing her chest.

At that point, all Yang could do was blink away tears and pretend those hands belonged to Blake. She was used to the cat faunus touching her there. Blake's delicate touches were just as exciting as they were calming, and Yang knew that at that moment she needed to _calm down_.

The man wasn't doing anything wrong. He was allowed to touch her, as long as she was okay with it. And although she was _far_ from okay with it, she knew she would make more money this way. There was something about touching their dancer's bodies that made people practically cough up their lien, and Yang desperately needed the money.

The hornier she made him, the more lien she would make. The hornier she made him, the more food she could provide for Ruby tomorrow.

So, with a nauseating coil in her gut, Yang twisted around to face the man and slowly grinded on his leg. The man grinned, raising his leg to give her more leverage and reached out to cup her breasts, rubbing gently. She gave an over exaggerated moan to stir him on, but the way she bit her lip was far from fabricated.

She hated this. She hated what he was doing to her. She hated what she was doing to herself. How would this man react if he knew he was fondling an underage girl? How would Ruby react to knowing her older sister was grinding herself on a 50 year old stranger?

But as the song ended and he told her he planned to stay with her awhile, she dragged her fingertips down his chest and forced all but two thoughts from her mind.

_Pretend that it's Blake. Do it for Ruby._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, I hope you all enjoyed that. I had a blast writing it and I would love to hear your thoughts. I will repeat one more time that the endgame pairings for this story are Freezerburn and Cinderruby, so DON'T WORRY!**

**Anyways, have a nice day everyone! Please review! :)**


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